Montreal News: "A Montreal think tank is suggesting public transportation in the city should be free to ease traffic headaches and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The group points out free transit would cost a lot less than the subsidies already given to car drivers."

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Cult MTL: "Offering free public transit on special occasions is a great first step, but the city needs to go much farther. Ideally, all public transit should be accessible. The simplest way to do that is to make it free to all at all times, but I recognize that progressive ideas are often implemented progressively, so let’s start with a few baby steps:

• Issue free transit passes to social assistance recipients. Public transit is unaffordable on a welfare income, and lack of mobility makes it harder for the poor to find work or to shop outside their communities. Free transit could help offset the problem of “food deserts,” the lack of decent local grocery stores common in poorer districts. This is a huge gesture that will cost virtually nothing.

• Offer free transit days on a more regular basis. Start with free weekends during the summer months to encourage public participation in all the festivals we’re already subsidizing.

• Keep the metro running all night on New Year’s and Nuit Blanche, but make it and the night buses free to encourage even more people to leave their cars at home (or to turn down lifts from friends who are driving drunk)."

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Montreal Gazette: "“We’ve known for 20 or 25 years that this was happening,” he told The Gazette. “What (scientists) got wrong was how fast. Twenty-five years ago we thought these things would start happening in 2040 or 2050. Very few scientists thought it would be happening so quickly. So what science is telling us is that the climate is much more sensitive to temperature increases than it was believed just two decades ago, 15 years ago, even 10 years ago.

“The number of natural catastrophes from forest fires to droughts have basically increased by a factor of four since the 1970s. So we can’t say that the (specific) flooding events we’re seeing is a result of climate change, but we can say that because of climate change these types of episodes and catastrophes are becoming more and more frequent.”

....He said people in Quebec should focus on what they can do in their personal lives to reduce fossil fuel use, particularly when it comes to transportation. But more important is letting elected officials know that reversing climate change should be a priority on the municipal, provincial and federal levels."

Friday, April 21, 2017

rankandfile.ca : "If fare disputes is the leading reason for verbal and physical violence against operators and fare collectors, then we need to look seriously at eliminating fares from transit services. Not looking at this option is simply irresponsible. Can we provide the service free at the point of use and fund it like other free public services through progressive taxation? This question is not even being asked but now is the time to raise it."

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Friday, April 14, 2017

The Laval News: "“Taking into account that active mobility and mass transit are priorities for Laval residents, the sums announced by the Finance Minister over five years to improve the service offer, including an increase in the frequency of buses, is good news,” the mayor added.

“It will be interesting to see how the new aid package from Quebec for longstanding senior citizen owners is implemented,” he continued. “This type of program, combined with Laval’s measures, including a subsidy for at-home seniors 65 years of age and older and the free public transit for seniors, contributes to the legitimate recognition that we all owe them.”"

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

InsideClimate News : "Tar sands crude carried by Line 67 would have a carbon footprint of 632 kilograms per barrel, the GREET model estimated. That compares to an average U.S. refinery mix of 521 kilograms per barrel of carbon dioxide emissions. The difference is 111 kilograms per barrel—21 percent dirtier, not 17 percent."

Thursday, March 30, 2017

InsideClimate News: "The country, which continues to expand oil and gas production in Alberta's oil sands despite its stated ambitions to curtail emissions, will make little to no progress towards ambitious emissions reductions targets pledged in December 2015 under the Paris agreement. That's the conclusion of a report published earlier this month by Environment and Climate Change, a federal agency tasked with reducing Canada's greenhouse gas emissions."

"It is my opinion that an account of BYG's historical activity in the Yukon should be brought to the attention of the federal and territorial taxpayers, who remain fiscally responsible for remediation efforts.""

The truth is, we’re living in a time when free public transportation should be seen as a basic human right. We at The Concordian believe p...

Think electric cars are the answer?

Here is an article that you must read. Alex Steffan examines the externalities of the auto. The fact the the auto burns oil is just part of the problem. The problem does not go away when a different fuel is used. Here is his article on World Changing.
My Other Car is a Bright Green City